Jane Campion Apologizes to Venus and Serena Williams for Critics Choice Awards Comments

The Power of the Dog director Jane Campion apologized to tennis legends Venus Williams and Serena Williams after she made a controversial comment about the sisters at the 2022 Critics’ Choice Awards Sunday night. After accepting her award for Best Director, the New Zealand filmmaker said the Williams sisters “don’t play against the guys, like I have to,” which was immediately seen as offensive and insulting on Twitter. The Williams sisters attended the ceremony as executive producers on King Richard, the Will Smith-starring biopic about their father Richard Williams and their early tennis careers.

After accepting the award, Campion started her speech by noting how “absolutely stunning” it was to be at the event “among so many incredible women.” She also praised Halle Berry, who received the SeeHer Award earlier in the night, then said it was “an honor” to be in the same room as Venus and Serena Williams. “I’ve taken up tennis – I truly have – and Will [Smith], if you want to come over and give me lessons, I would truly love it. I actually had to stop playing because I’ve got tennis elbow,” Campion said, reports Variety.

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Next, she praised her fellow Best Director nominees, whom she referred to as “the guys.” Then, she went back to the Williams sisters. “Venus and Serena, you’re such marvels,” Campion said. “However, you don’t play against the guys, like I have to.” Campion was widely criticized on Twitter for the comment, which some saw as belittling the astonishing achievements of Venus and Serena Williams. On Monday, Campion issued an apology.

“I made a thoughtless comment equating what I do in the film world with all that Serena Williams and Venus Williams have achieved. I did not intend to devalue these two legendary Black women and world-class athletes,” Campion said in a statement to Variety. “The fact is the Williams sisters have, actually, squared off against men on the court (and off), and they have both raised the bar and opened doors for what is possible for women in this world. The last thing I would ever want to do is minimize remarkable women. I love Serena and Venus. Their accomplishments are titanic and inspiring. Serena and Venus, I apologize and completely celebrate you.”

Just a day before Campion made her Critics Choice Awards comments, she was praised for her response to Sam Elliott’s criticisms of The Power of the Dog. “I’m sorry, he was being a little bit of a B-I-T-C-H. He’s not a cowboy; he’s an actor,” Campion told Variety at the Directors Guild of America Awards Saturday. “The West is a mythic space and there’s a lot of room on the range. I think it’s a little bit sexist.”

Campion is considered the frontrunner for the Best Director Oscar for The Power of the Dog, following her win at the DGA Awards and BAFTA Film Awards. The Power of the Dog was nominated for 11 other Oscars, including Best Picture. The 94th Academy Awards are on Sunday, March 27 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.